MLAA Holds Vigil at Memphis Animal Shelter -- Saturday November 15

On Saturday, November 15, Memphis Law Animal Advocacy invites all citizens to a candle light vigil to memorialize, remember, and pay tribute to the massive number of animals that have been euthanized for lack of a home. Gathering is at 6:45, with the vigil from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. The vigil will take place on public property adjoining the Memphis Animal Shelter, for which a city permit has been issued. 

Candles will be provided. The location is 3456 Tchulahoma Road. 

MLAA President visits with Judge and Former Senator Curtis Person

MLAA thanks Judge Curtis Person for a wonderful visit in his chambers. Judge Person and Kathryn DeRossitt talked about his years in the legislature and senate and he shared invaluable information about how citizens can share their concerns with their elected representatives. When asked for his advice when people question initiatives for animals when there are so people that also need help, his reply was simple: "They are also God's creatures, too, and as such they deserve protection from cruelty and abuse." 

Thanks to Judge Person for his guidance -- and for all of his success in the short time he has been the Juvenile Court Judge. In this role, he has established a position for an attorney to serve as an advocate and an adviser for non-custodial parents. A fair and compassionate judge, with a former career as a stellar legislator, the new plaza at the University of Memphis Law School downtown is named in his honor. 

MLAA members visit Mark Luttrell Correctional Facility's Dog Training Program

Click on pictures for larger image. 

MLAA members: kneeling, second from left, Erin Kubisiak (vp), third from left, Lauren Armstrong, fourth from left, Michele Johnson Spears (sec), third from right, Sharon Fortner (vp)

The dogs love this guard and greeted him when he walked through the breezeway. 

Above: Michele Johnson Spears
Above: The "Sitting Pretty" command

 

Above: the "sitting modestly" command
Above: Erin Kubisiak 

Four of our members – Sharon Fortner, Erin Kubisiak, Lauren Armstrong and Michele Johnson-Spears – had the pleasure of visiting the Mark Lutrell Women’s Correctional Center in Memphis, TN. It was here that we met with eight women inmates and their four beautiful dogs – Abby, Onyx, Shakira and Cheyenne. These dogs are selected from the Collierville Animal Shelter and will live in the prison for six to eight weeks while they are taught such skills as sit, stay, shake, high five, sit pretty, play dead and how to behave on a leash.

As we watched the dogs play and show off their acquired talents, we were also fortunate enough to get to talk to the eight women who work with the dogs 24 hours a day. The women told us that in order to qualify for the PPAWS program, the inmate had to have been sentenced to at least a ten year prison sentence. In addition, the women are required to apply and be interviewed just like any other employment opportunity. The women trainers are hand selected by the prison warden as the best candidates for the job.

As we spoke to the women and got to know them, they told us that they too benefit from the PPAWS program just as much as the dogs do. The women spoke of how they learn patience through the constant nurturing of these dogs that they continuously provide for day in and day out. These dogs serve as loving companions who these women devote their hearts and souls to teaching basic skills. In addition, another benefit the women receive is the valuable life skill of dog trainer which they can be certified for and then have a skill that they can take with them when they are released from prison and get a job following release.

In training the dogs, the women are assisted by a nationally certified dog trainer, Elta Windliff. Mrs. Windliff meets with the women and dogs once a week to work on their new skills. I spoke to Mrs. Windliff by telephone and she was able to provide insight into the PPAWS program and the women who participate in the program. Mrs. Windliff emphasized that the dogs are trained in a positive manner, whereby the dogs are rewarded for good behavior with small treats as reinforcement and the bad behavior is ignored. Mrs. Windliff embraces the strong belief that the dogs are as beneficial to the women as the women are to the dogs. In order to stay in the program, the women must stay out of trouble within the prison. On the other side, the dogs also provide the women with a responsibility where the focus is on the dogs so that the women have something to look forward to every day.

Photos and article by Sharon Fortner, VP